Chapter II – Where is snow?!
Even though it was still early in the morning, the Sun was shining bright and covered everything in its warm rays. Birds were chirping and singing in the distance. Various people were making their way to work, or school or to do some morning shopping. A beautiful day for Amelia. A nightmare for anyone that was allergic to the pollen of various trees and plants.
What the fuck?!
Where is snow?!
Why is it middle of a fucking spring?!
The agitated woman shouted within her mind, unable to comprehend the absurdity of her current situation. But who could blame her? She did wake up a few months later than she anticipated. Amelia began walking around out of sheer confusion. Her thoughts going into overdrive as she tried to find an explanation.
This doesn't make any sense! Okay, calm down. There has to be a rational way to explain why the fuck did I wake up like, a few months in the future. Fuck. For all I know it could have been a year or two.
Stopping her aimless wandering for a second, Amelia took a deep breath and continued to make more speculations, looking at nothing in particular, quickly spacing out. The world around her slowly stopped being important as she retreated into her realm of thoughts.
Okay, so… There must have been some sort of accident. That involved me being shit-faced drunk and… something. A car maybe. And then I've fallen into a coma. For months. And then I woke up… here? Naked? No, that doesn't explain shit. Shouldn't I wake up in a hospital or my own house? And have at least a few new scars?
What if I'm still comatose? Do people in a coma dream? Probably yes. I remember reading an article about somebody that remembered what nurses were talking about when he was in a coma. But this feels too… real. This can't be a dream.
Just to make sure, Amelia decided to do what people in movies do. Which is to pinch herself. She pinched her neck hard enough to feel that spike of pain radiating from the spot she picked, frowning a little as the reality around her didn't start to melt into nothingness.
Yep. Still here. Unless dreams in a coma are hyper-realistic, this really can't be a dream. So this leaves me one option. Or infinitely many more. I mean, this whole situation gives me strong yandere vibes. Maybe I really was drugged by… whoever I befriended while drunk and then kidnapped. And I did kinda assume her gender. Their gender. But it could have been anyone.
Yeah, I can imagine someone crazy kidnapping me, putting me in a drug-induced coma and staring at my naked, motionless body… for hours. And feeding me through IV or something. If this is the case then she had to be a medical student. Or her perhaps her parents are-
"Heeeeeeeyyy! Amelia!"
Who the fuck was that?!
The startled woman asked herself, frantically looking around the foreign surroundings, trying to locate the source of the voice that just called her out of the blue. Amelia approached a black, metal fence that separated the house from the street. Her shoes clacking quietly against a smooth pavement beneath her feet. Thanks to millions of years of evolution, her grayish-blue eyes were quick to spot a vaguely feminine-looking individual in the distance approaching her.
At that moment, she was simply a pinkish, bluish and brownish blur in a shape of a human female. Mostly due to Amelia's astigmatism and short-sightedness. But with every step she made, she was becoming more and more clear.
Ha! I fucking knew it was a she! Yeah, c'mere girl. You're gonna answer some questions. Like… where the hell I am. Or what the fuck is going on. WHERE'S MY PHONE?!
Tapping her foot impatiently against the pavement, Amelia waited for the girl to arrive at the mysterious house. A wicked grin spreading across her face as she hoped she'd finally get some definite answers and not even more questions that would make her doubt the nature of her own existence as well as everything else.
With every second Amelia's eyes were able to pick up more and more details. The mysterious girl stopped being a blur and became a normal person. Her attire looked like straight out of some anime about school girls and consisted of an unbuttoned, dusty gray blazer that reached slightly beneath her waist.
Oh my fucking god… is that? There's no fucking way.
Beneath that, the alleged kidnapper had some sort of brownish waistcoat and a white shirt. Right beneath the collar, she had a nicely tied, red ribbon.
It can't be anything else. I would recognize this fucking school uniform everywhere.
She also had a navy-blue skirt that reached slightly below the middle of her thighs. Last, but not least were her snow-white leggings that ended just below her knees.
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!
The pink-haired girl was smiling brightly and waving her arms at Amelia, soon starting to run towards the bewildered Brunette, who simply stood there in complete shock. Just like a few minutes ago. But this time, her perplexity was even more intense. Amelia's brain had enough troubles trying to give a reason for waking up a few months later. And this was far beyond that.
I can't… this is… I… fuck. Okay. I think any rational way to explain my situation can go out of the fucking window now. Unless quantum mechanics. If there's a non-zero chance for a particle to appear out of nowhere, then so can whole fucking planet Earth along with me with all my memories. It's just… really fucking unlikely.
"Haaahhh… haaahhh…" Sayori panted, stopping for a second to catch her breath after less than a minute of running. Quickly, she composed herself, flashing yet another cheerful smile at Amelia who was simply watching her in silence, doing her best not to look like she just saw a ghost.
"I overslept again! But I caught you this time!" She complained in a whiny tone, but it quickly changed to a more proud one. Her voice was quite high and sweet. Matching her upbeat personality almost perfectly. However, her smile quickly disappeared as she examined Amelia's attire.
This is exactly what she says in the game. Word for word. Am I going to relive all of Doki Doki Literature Club?! But… in reality? Is any of this real?! I am NOT looking forward to spending an entire fucking weekend with Yuri's corpse. I'll never forget those lifeless eyes…
"Where is your school uniform? We'll be late to school!" She asked with a small frown. Amelia was dumbfounded. Looking around for a good excuse, she noticed a mailbox right next to her.
"Oh, um… I was just checking my mailbox! And yeah… I kinda overslept too. Just… give me a second, okay? I'll be right back!" Amelia didn't even give Sayori time to react to her obvious lie before she turned around and ran back inside the house.
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK. I haven't been to high school in years! And for a very good reason, too. It sucks! At least mine did. Now, where's that damn uniform?!
Deciding that the best solution to this problem would probably be the easiest one, Amelia ran up the stairs and back inside her bedroom. She almost immediately approached the wardrobe and began looking through it once more.
No. No. No. Ugh, definitely no. Holy shit, it's right here. How the fuck did I overlook that?! I really am blind.
Amelia pulled out a hanger with the whole outfit on it and quickly began disrobing herself. With an image of Sayori in her mind, she began to put on every single piece of her outfit. The worst part was the ribbon since the Brunette couldn't remember how exactly it was tied. With a groan, she tied it up sloppily just like she would tie her shoelaces. Once she was done, she gave herself one last look in the mirror.
Ugh, it's not perfect, but it's close enough. I don't care.
I actually look pretty good in this.
Now that the problem with the outfit was solved, all Amelia needed was notebooks and something to write with. And keys to the house. She couldn't leave it unlocked for everybody to come in and steal everything. Pens were easy to grab since a few of them were lying on the desk in a plain view. Notebooks were a little bit tougher to find as Amelia had to actually look through drawers to find them.
Now… I can't just carry those around. Wasn't there a bag downstairs? Since I'm clearly the protagonist here, this must be my house, my room, and my stuff. I'm taking it.
Just like she expected, said bag hasn't moved much since Amelia saw it for the first time. Perhaps it wasn't very fashionable, but it looked cool enough for the Brunette. What's important is that this bag wasn't empty. Upon feeling a significant weight on her shoulder, she quickly opened it and looked inside.
Hmmm… I suppose these are my textbooks. Biology, math, history, physics… hmm, okay. Pencil case. Yeah, that's useful. Wallet. Hm, I'll check those later. Oooh! Keys! Yes! I can lock this house up. Right after I find the right key…
After a few moments of trying out different keys to lock the front door, Amelia finally left the house and she made her way towards Sayori. As casually as she could.
Act natural, don't let her know something is wrong.
"Um, sorry about that, Sayori. Let's just get to school, okay?" Amelia asked with a small, fake smile and the cheerful schoolgirl nodded.
"It's alright! You've waited for me so many times, Amelia. Today's my turn to wait for you! Ehehe~ " The pink-haired girl added with a small chuckle that could fool anyone to believe that everything is okay with her.
"Yeah, I know." Amelia simply responded and the two began heading towards the High School that DDLC took place in. The pale Brunette had no idea where it was and she was glad Sayori was always there in the game to join the protagonist on their way there.
We've definitely gone off the script now. If this whole world is a simulation, then it's almost perfect since it fooled me completely. They could have programmed an ideal imitation of Sayori's personality. And the worst is that I will never know for sure if she's really sapient or just an approximation, because I can't fucking Turing Test in real life! Although… I kinda am doing it right now, but in the end, I can't even be sure that other, normal people are conscious and not just mindless automatons!
But I'm gonna give her and others the benefit of the doubt. For now. Believable enough. Ten out of ten.
Both girls walked in total silence. The closer they were to the high school, the more people they passed on their way. A large portion of them were students who just like them were a little late. They were talking, laughing, joking. Exactly like normal people would do every day. Further confirming that everything around Amelia was just as real as her previous life.
Every now and then Sayori would look at her right and glance at the quiet student, as if she was trying to say something, but then decided not to. The Brunette was completely oblivious to that as her mind was far too busy contemplating the nature of this old, but also completely new world.
This is so weird. Despite her Japanese name, she doesn't look Asian at all. And she's pretty… so pretty… I wonder if her hair colour is natural. Or… maybe she simply dyes her hair. I don't know. All other people seem to have the usual hair colours. I gotta ask her later.
"By the way, Amelia…" Sayori suddenly said, looking up into the taller woman's eyes. Amelia's train of thoughts stopped abruptly as she returned to reality.
"Hm?"
"Have you decided on a club to join yet?" The cheerful girl asked politely.
Ooooh, I know this part. This is where the protagonist says he's not interested and something else and Sayori's like 'I'm gonna die if you become a NEET.' Heh… In that case I guess it was nice… hanging around with you, Sayori. Ehehe~
If I died yesterday and this is an afterlife, that's why this can't be heaven. If any of the major religions is actually true, I'm fucked. I'm gonna spend an eternity with Yuri's corpse. And she's gonna reanimate. And she'll be stabbing me forever and ever.
"Actually, yes. I was thinking about joining the Literature Club. You're the vice president there, am I right?" Amelia responded with a question of her own, despite knowing the answer very well. What she wasn't sure was whether the protagonist actually knew at that time if Sayori belonged to the club.
"R-Really?!" Sayori's sky-blue eyes widened in surprise as if somebody just told her that she and all her friends were nothing but ones and zeroes without consciousness and that nothing in her entire life actually happened.
"I-I mean, yes! That's the one! I'm so happy Amelia!" The pink-haired student could barely contain her excitement and happiness. She looked like she was going to start jumping around in any second now, but she actually didn't.
"I'm sure you're going to enjoy yourself there with us! Natsuki's going to make cupcakes and Monika…"
Monika. Monika. Oh my goodness, Monika is here. Why the fuck didn't I realize that sooner?! This should've been the very first thing on my mind in this situation. And… only this. Just Monika. Is it because it's early and the whole shock of being transported to a different reality? I can't be that stupid… and Monika… she…
While Sayori was talking endlessly about her club and its members and what they usually do there, Amelia left the real world completely, only nodding every now and then to make it seem like she's listening. She knew all of that already so there was no need to listen to it again. She had far more important things on her mind. Mostly Monika. Her palms were getting sweaty, her heart started to beat just a little quicker. Even small tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of actually meeting her.
I… I must know if she knows. Or rather… I must know how much she knows. She can be as oblivious as Sayori right now. Or she may know everything about the game and the player and she's just… waiting for me. I gotta figure out a way to let her know that I know. But if she doesn't know anything then… I might make myself look like an idiot. I have to be subtle. Find something only ACT 3 Monika would know, but pre-DDLC Monika wouldn't. Then find an appropriate moment to tell her it in person. Sounds perfect. This has to-
"Alright then! I'll see you after classes, Amelia!" The pink-haired girl said with glee before she departed Amelia, almost bouncing with every step she made.
Wait, what? We're already there?!
This seemed to be the case. When Amelia finally snapped out of her trance, she found herself in front of a mostly empty and quite large schoolyard. Perhaps the high school itself didn't look as shiny and modern like they usually do in anime, but it wasn't a ruin either. It belonged somewhere in the middle.
"Oh! Yeah! Sure! See you later, Sayori!" Amelia said back and watched Sayori leave for a few moments. The Brunette was completely dumbfounded, but she didn't show it. Instead, she smiled widely and waved at her friend. Now, all alone she could enter her world of thoughts once more.
Okay! Now what? Where am I supposed to go now? What class do I even have right now?!
Just as promised! Here's a fresh, new chapter! Finally, the story starts to progress and may actually get somewhere! Hope you enjoyed it!